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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23481799">Pandemonium</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazred/pseuds/kazred'>kazred</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Prototype (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Game Warnings, Other, Prototype 2 AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:08:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,989</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23481799</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazred/pseuds/kazred</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex doesn't understand. He saved Manhattan from its own nuke, but the city was still after him. Maybe when there was more than you existing, you could see why. After the events of [P1] and an AU of [P2]. Currently being remastered, also on FF.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. alpha.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>To everyone who's appreciated this story,</p><p>This is an official update of what's to come for Pandemonium. It's been almost six years since I brought my ideas of what could've been Prototype 2 to fruition and, with years of refining my writing, and my age, I thought one of my favourite stories deserve a remaster (altho true say we ain't never gon get a remastered Prototype rip). So, with that being said, this fic is gonna go through a long process of rewritten text, new text and just adjustments in general. Some things will be left in, others sent straight to archive but the original plot will still be the same.  There's a lot of work to be done and, for a fanbase that's still alive, coming back to this brings back sweet memories of our favourite virus~.</p><p>If this is your first time here, </p><p>Welcome to the mess that is Pandemonium. When I was younger, I wrote a fic that many said had the potential of being Prototype 2 (which, 'til this day, makes me cry tears of joy) but my knowledge over synonyms, structure and detail had grown considreably over the years. So, this is essentially a story about the famous headcanon: Alex versus Alex. When Alex recreated himself on that pier, did he really make ALL of him?</p><p>Thank you so much and I hope we can keep the fire burning (and pretend Prototype 2 never happened, as fun as it was to play).</p><p>EDIT: Would also like to add that Pandemonium was inspired by Laluzi (yes, THAT Laluzi); after reading After The Fires Fade, I was in awe of how somebody could use words so eloquently and write so much in one chapter (they NEVER held back with the word count). Also read ATFF; shit you not, you'll be begging for their next chapter.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One virus, three weeks, millions dead...and I was there. My name was Alex Mercer, and my work is almost done.</p>
<p>Saving the world was exhausting as Alex Mercer would now learn to realise, his biomass still stirring and warping with the nuke's aftershock even after a year of solitude. Being less than three weeks old at the time, he gathered information about who he was, watched as the BLACKLIGHT Virus sucked whatever life Manhattan held on to and wore the face of the man who wanted to end it all. It disgusted him, it humoured him. Dr Alexander Mercer was crazy, psychotic almost, his intelligence proving nothing if not stupidity. The more Alex thought about what that man did, the more content he was with just being a virus. The less content he was knowing he can never be human. Even with the thousands of personalities, memories and faces stored within, he knew that none of them represented who he really was.</p>
<p>It was a daunting thought to have to linger in your head when your own mind was trying to realign itself. Alex sighed, it was a long year.</p>
<p>But even as he sat atop an apartment building that overlooked Mayfair something didn't feel right. He couldn't describe it, it was an awkward feeling that weighed heavy on his shoulders. And that was when the whispering rushed to his senses and he brought his hands to his head in pain, gritting his teeth as images, words, feelings coursed through him. The Hivemind should have collapsed with Elizabeth Greene's descent into the viral abyss but with the sensory overload suddenly providing him coordinates that blurred every time he tried to focus on it, that was enough to tell him his internal war wasn't over. It was, it was calling for him. And he was just about to call the hospital for updates too.</p>
<p>Clicking the stiffness out of his neck he used a hand to push off the rooftop with unnecessary force, the brick and glass cracking against the pressure as he rocketed through the air, and his hearing picked up rattled BLACKWATCH units zoning in towards Times Square. The virus still wreaked havoc in isolated spots across the city, but with it suitably contained Alex was sure they would probably fail whatever mission they were assigned to halfway and succumb to the infection. Long story short: BLACKWATCH were assholes.</p>
<p>It was times like these where Captain Cross would call Alex and provide intel on the twisted shit GENTEK and BLACKWATCH were preparing to do, and Alex would reluctantly rush in head first. Hell, it was the captain that informed Alex about his forgotten beginnings, how he was even brought into existence. It was the captain that informed Alex about Elizabeth Greene burying underground along with the rest of the virus to protect herself from the BLOODTOX waiting to be released across the island. It was the captain that informed Alex about the nuke ready to vaporise millions of infected and non-infected civilians that the military didn't care about. Captain Cross was a good man in his own right and it put a small frown on Alex's face when it was the Supreme Hunter that took his life. It was a shame, Alex was beginning to like that man.</p>
<p>He audibly winced and fell from the sky, the voices rushing back into his head and landmarking another spot in this urban playground, but it was too late as Alex tore through a skyscraper and tumbled down to ground level seconds later. The impact was devastating and with his mass concentrated and inhumanly dense, everything in his radius was thrown back and ripped out of the asphalt. People ragdolled, vehicles toppled, glass shattered, Alex gradually recovered as he pulled himself out of the crater. He suddenly felt the urge to apologise, he didn't mean to cause pointless destruction, but the off-key chorus of horns blaring angrily at him slightly pissed him off. His eyes shifted to the closest vehicle and glared at the driver with so much disgust the horn was released, and with a disappointed scoff, he broke into a sprint in the opposite direction, black and red shuddering at his legs.</p>
<p>Nobody was around when he jogged to a stop in front of Penn Station, aside from the wrecked APCs that made Alex's brow arch. The area triggered a daunting memory in his mind and he saw himself—the actual Alex Mercer—run through the barricaded entrance with two BLACKWATCH agents phasing through after him. It got him thinking suddenly about the dead body he inhabited, his eyes drifting down to gaze at his hands that shuddered with a virus capable of more. A virus created for biowarfare instead carrying the body of its curator. Funny, really. It was then that the chorus of whispering came to an abrupt halt and he narrowed his eyes at the barricade.</p>
<p>Alex stepped forward and began ripping the blockades with his hands, the metal peeling away with casual strength, and with a big enough opening forged he ducked through. Huh, it was the same as Dr Mercer left it, the ticket boxes browning with months-old dirt and the linoleum floor cracked and in need of desperate repair. Not even a quarantine unit was issued in the station for the damage was already done, the scene of Alex Mercer succumbing to his fate flashing in his eyes and as he was about to investigate, a shadow moved in his peripherals.</p>
<p>He pivoted fast and his arms reacted instantly, biomass shifting the human limbs to claws and he heard a laugh which he thought was his own. I mean, it did sound exactly like it. Hearing your own laugh not coming from your own mouth usually meant you were going crazy. "They called for the cavalry," he heard someone say. He called it, definitely going crazy. "But they brought the wrong man."</p>
<p>"Who's there?" Alex called out, although the vulnerable tone to his voice made his face grimace in disgust. He heard heels echo around the foyer and turning towards the sound, he swore the entire planet could smell how shocked he was. It was like looking in a mirror that brought out the worst of you, and the worse meaning red-hot eyes and a burning scar that stretched up the left side of your jaw. The man's smile was stuck on his face when he revealed himself, greeting Alex with an open-armed gesture and taking his usual stance with the hands in the pockets. Alex pointed with a claw, "Who the fuck are you?"</p>
<p>There was only one viable answer, "I'm you."</p>
<p>"No, the fuck you're not."</p>
<p>"I beg to differ."</p>
<p>"You'll be begging for your life when I'm done with you."</p>
<p>The man smirked, "Let's not get too worked up. This is your fault, Alex. I'm here because you're here."</p>
<p>Realization smacked him across the face yet, "Explain."</p>
<p>"Have we already forgotten about our heroic actions? We saved Manhattan, remember, but nuclear fission ripped us apart and we ended up like bird shit on the pier. Whatever you left behind that day manifested into something you could never be. I manifested into something you could never be. After all, you could never rise to the occasion."</p>
<p>Alex's guard lowered. "How is that possible?"</p>
<p>"What part of nuclear fission do you not understand? Although you had help from that stupid bird, it took me days to even pull my brain back together. Do you know how agonising that was for me? Of course, you wouldn't know."</p>
<p>Okay, he was totally bemused. A year away from this bullshit and his fucking doppelganger revealed himself as himself, slight humour in the latter's words as he spoke of his origins; how he was born. Was that the blank space Alex was talking about, the void in him that he somewhat missed? One of his claws rippled back and was placed against his chest with the sudden revelation brewing more questions than he could answer festering underneath the biomass. Then his hand tightened and Alex glared back at the man. "You didn't answer my question."</p>
<p>"Who am I? I am a remnant of you, of course, and so I have no name...although Mercer reminds me of the man I was before death. I was just as confused as you are right now and so I went on a journey to find myself, to see if what they've done can be redeemed. But as I thought, I now understand how humanity works. They believe that they're superior and the better race while they poison their waters, choke their skies and kill one another for the sake of territory. If there is to be any peace, it needs to be cleaned of its poisoned waters and smoky skies. It would be...the New World." Mercer's insane smile grew as he circled Alex, brushing his shoulder with his fingertips. "They would be absolute peace..."</p>
<p>"What are you talking about? A New World?"</p>
<p>"I'm planning to kill the world in order to save it."</p>
<p>"The world, huh? And how are you going to do that exactly?"</p>
<p>"The same way you infected Manhattan. I'm a simple man, the need for complexity is already in my DNA and needs to be balanced. But since you're here, my plans can finally be set in motion." Mercer moved at unimaginable speed and Alex was unable to register his movements, finding himself pinned to a column with firm hands. Coincidentally displaying the same mannerisms was one thing, moving that fast and holding Alex up with such strength was another. Just what the hell was Alex dealing with? "We can do this the easy way," an identical blade rested on his throat. "Or the hard way."</p>
<p>Alex chuckled, "What, and you're supposed to be the hard way?"</p>
<p>"I am, but since you can't handle the hard way, I'll put it on easy mode," Alex grunted as wet tendrils snaked around his body and trapped him against the column, the building rumbling and spluttering at the infestation rotting through the structure. "No hard feelings, Alex, but know that this was what you were supposed to be." Mercer released the hold on Alex's neck and watched as Alex fought against his own biomass, even tried to translate the biomass as his own but to no avail, and the former began walking out when the building started to whine under viral pressure.</p>
<p>Mercer climbed through the entrance and tucked his hands in his pockets again, peering over his shoulder as the building collapsed behind him, and turned to gaze at the city once the disturbance calmed. All the possibilities, the people, the variation of his virus. This was just part of his plan; to turn everyone into a single unit, a single species...that was his end game. "Show me what you're hiding, Manhattan," he sighed contently and drove his hands into the concrete beside him, thick tendrils sprouting through the road and finding its way into buildings.</p><hr/>
<p>"Fuck," Alex cursed and choked as he pulled himself from the rubble, clutching his right shoulder when his ropy arm dangled behind him, and his breath was stolen from him when his eyes watched the gruesome barrage exploding from under the layers of cement. Alex stepped back in horror, the nightmare actually coming to life. It was happening again, all of his hard work undone by a man with the same face. It was horrifying to witness being on the receiving end, the mass connecting buildings together and scorched cars littering the abandoned roads. How long has it been? Judging by how he could barely see the stars peeking through the changing sky, a few hours at most. So it took him a few hours to pry himself out of the rubble, he even had to lessen the density of his arm because Mercer wound the building so goddamn tight. "You've got to be kidding me," he thought aloud, his arm finally shifting back into position with a loud crack. Despite what he was seeing Alex couldn't get his mind around the fact that there was two of him, one virus with two different outlooks; surely the only person that could help was Ragland, right? He hoped so.</p>
<p>Alex took one last glance before jogging to a full sprint, ducking out of the way of a Walker thrown in his general direction when he rounded the corner. A pack of Hunters feasting on the remains of BLACKWATCH soldiers, no, there was something different about these ones. Their stance was lower than that of a Hunter, their muscles glowed with viral activity and spikes protruded painfully out of their backs. Mercer has already evolved an infected monster not even half a day of his sighting and it was dawning on Alex how much worse the situation was growing. He needed to get to the hospital, fast.</p>
<p>Dodging a few BLACKWATCH convoys and choppers on the way he finally made it to St. Paul's Hospital, bursting through the doors with hopeful vigour that the doctor could provide him with some reasonable answers. But Alex immediately felt hostility hanging in the air as he found the doctor backing away from the corpse he was assessing, surgical blade in hand and fear in his eyes. "Please," he begged. "You've said what you've needed to say. What more do you want from me?"</p>
<p>Alex looked unimpressed. "What are you doing, Ragland?"</p>
<p>"What am I doing? You came here just an hour ago threatening me out of my own morgue."</p>
<p>It clicked, "That wasn't me, doctor. Look, I...I need your help."</p>
<p>"And why should I help you?"</p>
<p>"Would you believe me if I said there's another me in the city?" There was a long pause that filled the morgue.</p>
<p>"What? How is that possible?"</p>
<p>"I thought you were the Doctor."</p>
<p>"How did this happen?"</p>
<p>"A year ago. Nuclear fission. Manhattan was about to get bombed and I...I couldn't let that happen."</p>
<p>"Wait, a nuke―" Alex continued.</p>
<p>"I dropped it in the Atlantic but I couldn't escape in time. I thought everything would be fine, that Manhattan would be safe but...I was wrong."</p>
<p>"That's impossible...two equal halves of the same virus?"</p>
<p>"You're the only person that can help me right now...please, Ragland." That was something he wasn't usually accustomed to: begging. But what Alex witnessed outside he needed all the help he could get, and Ragland could see the desperation in his shadowed eyes. He sighed.</p>
<p>"Fine, I'll help you. You've protected me this long, I can at least return the favour."</p>
<p>"Thank you." It was a genuine tone Alex used, a softer sigh of relief escaping his lips as his anxiety quietened a little, and Ragland gave a faint smile before returning to his work when he remembered something.</p>
<p>"Alex, follow me. I need to show you this before you go back out there." Ragland stepped away from the corpse and gestured to Alex to follow, the virus silently scuttling behind as he was led through a short corridor with most of the doors they passed sealed off to the outside world. It was the door ahead that Alex recognised and when they walked inside the contrast was obvious.</p>
<p>The morgue was bright, aside from the fact that dead bodies lay in its respective containers ready for postmortem, with many diagrams and posters about the infected and their physiology. The atmosphere in the room was warmer: the light that seeped through the cracks in the curtains spilt onto the figure that was resting peacefully in her bed, the rhythmic sounds of her deep breathing and the calm beeps of her heart monitor blending together. Should Alex wake her up? No, he shook his head, he'll let her sleep. I mean, with the condition she was in, it'd be best to get all the rest that she could get. He forwarded her bed and smiled softly, hesitantly reaching down to cup her face whilst tilting his own head. He imagined what it was like to sleep, to dream, to gather information and put them in order and lose yourself in your own mystical plane. Maybe one day he'd try it but, with the voices that haunt him every single day, the chance of doing so would be less than likely.</p>
<p>He side-glanced to Ragland who had sat down on the desk parallel to Dana's bed, manilla folders and documents and empty sample tubes neatly lined the desk, but it was when be brought out another tube hidden in its own dark casing did it trigger Alex's senses. "What...what's that smell?"</p>
<p>"What smell?" He left Ragland hanging on his question as he sniffed the air, identifying the scent and darting his eyes to the sample tube in the doctor's possession. Alex walked over to the desk and eyed the tube, the blood inside showing nothing out of the ordinary. To his standard vision, that was. He shifted his visual spectrum for a second, the reddish hue coating everything in his vicinity but leaving only himself and the blood glowing a bright orange-white. He blinked, his vision reverting back. "Alex, are you okay?"</p>
<p>"Is that Dana's blood?"</p>
<p>Ragland tensed. "I've been checking her blood every week for the last 11 months and it's only recently the sample has been showing up positive. Her body is dormant, no physiological changes, but her blood it's―"</p>
<p>"What strain is it?"</p>
<p>"...it's yours, Alex...y-you infected your own sister?"</p>
<p>"No...no, I didn't," Alex staggered back before spinning on his heels and heading for the door, catching a glimpse of his sister on the way. Infected Dana? Alex rolled his tongue against his cheek in sheer annoyance, Mercer fucked with the wrong family even if it was his own. "But I know who did...and he's gonna pay with his life."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. viral.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alex is just a role I play.</p>
<p>It took three days.</p>
<p>The "Mercer" Virus ruled with a stronger viral presence than the last wave and divided New York Zero into three zones: the Green Zone, the Yellow Zone and the Red Zone. The Marines were no longer capable of containing and managing such a virus and so BLACKWATCH evolved completely, bases all over the map with weapons and equipment evolving through technological advancements. A city once bustling and thriving turned into its own quarantine zone once again. Thinking back, he saw his own virus infect those red blood cells in that sample tube, he saw the process of becoming infected. He thought about Dana's behaviour if she were to wake up as he sat on the rooftop of St. Paul's, scoffing at the fact that his sister was an actual bomb ready to explode in Alex's face if he stepped on the wrong foot, or any foot. Of all the fucking things Mercer could do and the first was do that, to Dana.</p>
<p>Then he tapped into the Hivemind, it was always a numbing feeling when he did, a direct connection to infected everywhere; he waited for a sign, a call, a whisper, something. Anything. But all was unusually quiet in the Hivemind. Nobody screaming for help, nobody dying a painful death. Ever since Mercer was born. How Mercer managed to rebuild the Hivemind was something Alex couldn't get his head around, maybe it was an ability he never got to hone and probably an ability he really didn't want to have. Just noise. Directed noise.</p>
<p>He knew what Mercer was capable of, and making the New World as he called it was actually plausible. Finding people able to handle the pressure of holding the virus in their bodies wouldn't be as easy, considering the vast majority of people that lived here barely took on BLACKLIGHT's properties and just stumbled around like idiots or adopted too much and ended up not human at all. Of course, a prick with his face was gonna go around infecting people and turn them into Walkers...was that right? Walkers? That's what they're calling them?</p>
<p>He laughed at that. Oh my god, he actually laughed. It was a small, flittering thing but it was real. He shook his head, standing just after he finished his little chuckle and turned to look his double straight in the eye. "Thought I'd find you here," Mercer said, same smirk on his face and Alex reacted fast. His claws raked across Mercer' torso and he hissed, using his shields to blocks the fierce strikes he received. "What's wrong sweetheart? Having a bad day?"</p>
<p>"You infected Dana you son of a bitch!" Alex growled at him, Hammerfist breaking the shields and his cheekbone. Mercer staggered and smiled, wiping his face and feeling it mend itself. "Your own flesh and blood! Your own fucking sister!"</p>
<p>"It's all part of the plan."</p>
<p>"You stay away the fuck away from Dana, got it?"</p>
<p>"No, I don't got it. But I suggest you hurry," he sucked in air through his teeth, Alex's arms splashing with red and black snakes waiting to attack on command. "She might not be your sister when she wakes up."</p>
<p>"What did you do to her?"</p>
<p>"She was already infected to begin with, that was inevitable while she was in Greene's care. No, I saved her, altered the virus within her. Cleaner but also more aggressive." Mercer bit his lip in guilt and shrugged and Alex stepped forward.</p>
<p>"You turned her into a fucking Hunter?!"</p>
<p>"I turned her into a Brawler. Hunters were weak and you managed to tear through them with their only resource. Brawlers are of a different strain, built to last with organic metal sharp enough to tear you apart. Hope you enjoy your new pet, Mercer. Or will you?" Alex reacted and pounced on his counterpart but the man dodged it and tugged hard, Alex's connection to the Hivemind bringing the latter to his knees. Fuck, this was why he hated using the Hivemind. It left you vulnerable, open, as with gathering memories from the consumed did. He bared his teeth as he strained against the pain and Mercer slowly circled Alex, "So weak. Pathetic. A virus developing a sense of attachment? How cute."</p>
<p>"F-fuck you―"</p>
<p>A kick straight into his midsection sent Alex sprawling a few feet, completely knocking the wind out his lungs. "You can try all you want Alex," Mercer taunted as he began stepping away, his arms outstretched. "But you know the end game. You can never beat an original." Alex had just about gotten off the floor when Mercer vanished, finally severing his connection to the Hivemind and it took a second for panic to set in. He flipped off the building and paid no mind to the startled pedestrians that leapt out of his way, and burst through the doors. Ragland was finishing his notes on a corpse when Alex blurred past him and was already in Dana's room; his sister was still confined to her bed but furrowed his brows when he saw the line on the heart monitor abruptly change tempo.</p>
<p>The doctor frantically came running in, worry in his tone, "What's going on? Alex?"</p>
<p>"I need to infect Dana." Alex forwarded her bed but a hand grabbed his arm midway and he looked back.</p>
<p>"Infect Dana? Why would you do that? She's already―"</p>
<p>"Unless you don't mind dying here, there's no other choice."</p>
<p>"You are not going to infect your sister."</p>
<p>"I am." Alex shoved Ragland off his base with human force, the doctor making a struggled sound as he hit the floor. "I will not let her become more than." Then his voice softened once his eyes found Dana again, "Dana...I'm sorry." He reached for her throat and cupped it gently, his biomass suddenly hesitating alongside his better judgement. Why was he hesitating? He didn't understand, infect her and one of his many problems will be solved. But it's his goddamn sister, it's his fault she's in this mess in the first place. God, he didn't want to do it. Don't do it, but he had to. There has to be another way. No. I'm sorry.</p>
<p>He craned his neck and hushed the intrusive thoughts, shoving them into the back of his mind, and without another though tempting him otherwise his grip tightened and Dana's eyes opened. He froze in place as he gazed into his sister's tired, innocent eyes and really wanted to release his hold when her arms tried to hold onto his own in desperate panic. Fuck, why? Dana please why? No. No no. Alex bared his teeth and stabbed her through her midsection and winced when an empty gasp left her lips. Black and red exploded and roped around her chest and she gagged and choked against it, Alex letting her go as her body convulsed violently and instant regret washed over him the second he stepped away from the bed. The heart monitor was beeping fast, her heart rate increasing from a steady, sleep-ridden BMI to one that showed signs of tachycardia. No, well past that.</p>
<p>"Alex," Ragland finally recovered from momentary shock and rushed over to Dana's bedside, trying to hold her down whilst blood stained the bedsheets and dripped onto the floor. "What did you do?"</p>
<p>"I had no choice," he replied in a harsh tone and was given a terrified look.</p>
<p>"Why would you...why would you do that? Are you trying to make your sister's situation worse than it is?"</p>
<p>"Mercer infected her with a strain that would turn her into a fucking Hunter!" Alex retaliated with clenched fists. "If I left her, you'd be dead the second she realise what was going on."</p>
<p>"Alex―"</p>
<p>"I will not let Mercer take Dana away from me!" Alex glared hard at Ragland and the immediate tension dissipated at the sound of Dana attempting a greedy gasp, the doctor slowly moving his hands away as the wiry ropes melted back into her body and the heart monitor slowed to a normal reading. Steady beeping. Ragland looked on in worry, his eyes briefly locking with Alex's before the sudden movement startled him.</p>
<p>Dana sat up and put a hand on her chest, coughing a few more times before taking in her surroundings with confused sounds. "What...where am I?" She looked down and widened her eyes at her gown almost completely drenched in crimson and felt her stomach, "What happened to me...?"</p>
<p>"Dana, I―"</p>
<p>She looked up, "...Alex? Alex!" She leapt up and embraced him lovingly, trying to wrap all of him in her warmth and Alex sighed lowly as he exchanged the hug. She was okay. Thank God she was okay. Thank you. "Alex...I thought you'd forget about me but you didn't...you didn't. You came back for me."</p>
<p>He pulled back, "Dana, there's something you should know..."</p>
<p>"I should know? Alex, you're scaring me."</p>
<p>"You have to promise me you won't get upset."</p>
<p>"I'm covered in my own goddamn blood, how much worse can it get?"</p>
<p>"I had to infect you."</p>
<p>Dana deadpanned. "What."</p>
<p>"Mercer infected you with a strain that you turn you into a Hunter and―" Alex was sent back a couple steps as Dana pushed him away and followed suit by hopping off the bed and jabbing a finger at his chest.</p>
<p>"You infected me?! Why would you do that?"</p>
<p>"You promised―"</p>
<p>"Fuck the stupid promise! I'm infected! You were supposed to protect me, Alex…"</p>
<p>He averted his gaze, "I've always been protecting you."</p>
<p>"Says the guy who fucking infected me! You did this to me! You! How could…you..." She stared in disbelief when she felt her hand skin unravel and loop, whether it was by emotional stability or Alex's own biomass responding to the threat, and she stared as the fibres shuddered. "What's happening to me?" Dana trembled, her hands sliding up to grab his jacket and empathy made Alex frown. Dana was absolutely terrified and she had every right to be. Imagine finding out your dead brother was actually alive but with his living corpse was a virus he created, the city you were finally starting to enjoy was covered in red and killed people by the millions and now your own body throbbed with the same virus that's keeping your so-called brother animate. Dana was strong, Alex knew, she always was, but sensitivity came internalisation and it was only now that he was beginning to understand. "Alex, I-I...what's―"</p>
<p>He caught her hands, "It's called BLACKLIGHT and learning and adapting is in its genetic coding; that includes mass consumption and manipulation and that's just the start. I know what you're feeling, I know exactly what you're going through, but if you want to survive you're going to have to do things that will scar you for life. But you have to trust me on this. I won't let anyone take you away from me again, not Mercer, not anyone. I promise." She stared up at him, tears already cascading down her heated face as she relished in the brother she knew. This was Alex talking, not the virus keeping his heart beating, and she smiled.</p>
<p>"I believe you."</p>
<p>He glanced at the door, "We're getting out of here...got anything else you can wear? Seeing you in a pink gown with teddy bears is creepy and a bit amusing. More creepy though."</p>
<p>"Yeah...yeah, they're in the back."</p>
<p>"Like I said, mass manipulation. You've been changed with the gown on, meaning this is imitated onto you already. You wouldn't wanna run around and let people see what's going on downstairs. I sure as hell don't." He let go and spun, hands in his pockets. "I won't look."</p>
<p>Dana looked down at her hands with a confused look on her face, wondering exactly how to magic clothes onto her person. Did it simply take just the thought of wearing it to...she watched as the virus listened to her intently and rippled against her like a wave and sighed when she wasn't in that humiliating piece anymore. Pink cotton and applique shifted into dark leathers and denim and with a step back made sturdy rubber and fibers. It was a simple outfit no less, a leather jacket with a grey jumper and a black scarf, black trousers and ankle boots. "Oh," she heard her brother say and her head snapped up. "Someone thinks they look fancy with a scarf on."</p>
<p>"Says the guy in a dress shirt..." he smirked. "Can we leave now? I can't stop thinking that there's dead bodies in this place. It gives me the creeps."</p>
<p>"Let's go then." They walked out of the room, just to see Ragland draped on the slab, blood soaking his lab coat in dark red and his eyes lifelessly open. Dana gasped and stepped back, hiding her face on Alex's back. He knew Ragland left, presumably to sanitise his hands and to register what had happened, but he didn't hear his back breaking, his lungs filling with his own blood as he took his last breath. He didn't hear the man who did this.</p>
<p>"Ragland's dead... oh fuck, he's dead..." she whispered, shaking her head in disapproval.</p>
<p>"Wait here... I see a note." Letting go of him, he strode towards the corpse and saw the deep gash in his back, snatching the note that was stuck to his cheek.</p>
<p>
  <em>This is your fault.</em>
</p>
<p>He crumpled up the paper in his hand, just wanting to destroy his other self. He killed the only guy that can help him find a explanation to this, the only guy that saved his life from that fucking parasite and now everything he did was worthless. Oh he wanted to fucking squash Mercer's head between his goddamn hands, wanted to pull out his throat and rip his arms from his body but when he looked back at Dana, he realised why he was here.</p>
<p>His head snapped to the side, "We gotta go. Now!" He didn't hesitate to drag Dana out of the morgue despite her whiny protests but her whining subsided when the hospital collapsed behind her, passers-by reacting to the sudden event and she covered her mouth in shock. Alex, however, had his eyes fixed on something else.</p>
<p>Himself.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. descent</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They have no idea what I'm capable of.</p>
<p>Alex was noticeably pissed as he sat on the sofa with his arms crossed and his head back, and Dana busied herself by going on the laptop to scour BLACKNET for files. First Dana and now the only man that could actually help him was dead. It was stupid of him to leave Ragland out of his sight but the unusual quietness of the morgue should've been a red flag. What's wrong with you, Alex? He breathed in as he reconnected himself with Hivemind, surprised to hear his own voice calling orders. <em>I thought you were smarter than to reconnect yourself but I forget, you're an anomaly.</em></p>
<p>Alex wasn't in the mood for small talk. <em>You killed the man that saved you. Why?</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Saved me? What are you―oh~. You mean Ragland. That's simple. If Ragland's smart enough to rid me of a flesh-eating cancer, his existence was threatening. As much as it pained me, his death was not in vain.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And your own sister?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I still can't believe you took my words as facts. Greene infected her the moment the Supreme Hunter brought her back. You honestly think I'd hurt my own sister? Changing the virus in her was all on you, you just acted out on human instinct and did what you needed to do. Can't say I blame you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Listen, you fucking prick, stay away from my family or I swear―</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>What? You can't kill me, Alex.</em>
</p>
<p><em>You don't know me.</em> He left without a reply to the statement, sitting forward when he heard the clicking of the mouse and the unfamiliar breathing rush to his ears. Maybe next time he'll reconsider using the Hivemind, hearing your own voice sound so catty and distasteful was incredibly annoying. "Find anything?"</p>
<p>"I've been going in complete circles...but I did find two files: James Heller and Hazelle Withers. Heller was part of the Marines and assigned a mission in the Red Zone, only to be intercepted and infected by Mercer. Withers, on the other hand, is an experiment of something called Project: Hera."</p>
<p>"Project: Hera?"</p>
<p>"Apparently a group of scientists got the all-clear of using Greene's DNA to test out the unknown strains of the virus."</p>
<p>"It's like Hope, Idaho all over again…"</p>
<p>Dana ignored him, "Only problem is that Heller is completely off-grid while Withers is being held somewhere in the Yellow Zone."</p>
<p>"Disclosed location?" he asked, standing up, hovering over her shoulder and stared at the image that was contained in the open file. The girl had bloody bandages over her eyes but was able to keep her satin hair looking neat. Talk about priorities.</p>
<p>"From the looks of it...the file's got countless records of them cutting her open, doing God knows what to her because of her physiology. Hell, they even cut out her eyes to test her sensory deprivation. Fucking hell, Alex, we gotta get her outta there."</p>
<p>"Don't you mean me?"</p>
<p>She turned her head to face him, "I didn't stutter. We are going."</p>
<p>"Dana, you're not going anywhere."</p>
<p>"I'm not staying holed up in this place because you want to protect me." Alex reeled back. "I get it, I do, but you did this to me. The least you can do is help me control it."</p>
<p>He sighed, "I'll only teach what your mentality can handle. I don't need you to be fucked up in the head; I won't take the blame for that."</p>
<p>"Ain't that what big brothers are for?" They smiled at each other, the sudden craving of mutual understanding relished at the sight of his sister. He didn't care if he was a virus, Dana saw past that and continued to do so despite all the crazy shit he was capable of and the crazy shit he put her through. Let Greene infect Dana and let the infestation rot in her unconscious body for months, then infect her with his own virus like big brothers do, right? Something about protecting Dana stung him a little because it made him wonder if he was only protecting himself. "The Yellow Zone's a big place. How are we gonna find her?"</p>
<p>He watched her as she stood from her place and followed her to the front door, "If I tell you that now, you won't be able to sleep for days."</p>
<p>"That sounds like an understatement, Alex."</p>
<p>"Have I ever slept around you?"</p>
<p>Dana had to think for a second, "...no, actually."</p>
<p>"Exactly." Dana scoffed as they exited the safehouse, climbing two flights of stairs that led to the fire exit and Alex hesitated for a second as he realised the predicament he just put himself in. How exactly was he going to show Dana without scarring her for life? There was no gentle way to consume people, no delicate touch when it came to breaking bones. Unlike his human counterpart, his unconscious wasn't affected by death. Shit. "Alex, you okay?" Dana was in front of him and he blinked to bring her into focus. Shit.</p>
<p>"I think."</p>
<p>"You think?"</p>
<p>"I do, yes."</p>
<p>"Alex," she whined and he huffed in defeat.</p>
<p>"Okay. There is no easy way around this, Dana. When I'm here, you're not to touch any organic matter aside from yourself. You still have no control over your own matter and...we really don't want to have you stuck in somebody else's body."</p>
<p>"What do you mean any―wait, the fuck, stuck in somebody else's body? Alex, what the fuck."</p>
<p>"You think this is a joke?" Alex moved away from her and stopped just at the edge of the rooftop, his arms crossed in annoyance. "I don't mind showing you everything it takes to be like me but I don't want to be like me. So jump." Dana glanced at her brother, past the edge and back at her brother with a mix of shock and confusion on her face. When it finally sank in, she retorted.</p>
<p>"Fuck. No. I'm not jumping. Alex, there's no way," her voice shook. "There's no way."</p>
<p>"C'mon Dana, Withers could be dying and it will be your fault because you didn't jump."</p>
<p>"Alex, please―"</p>
<p>"Exposure therapy. After this, maybe I'll get you ice cream for positive reinforcement...if you can still eat it anyway."</p>
<p>"Is there no other way?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, down. Down off this building. Hell, I'll go first." Before she could call his name he relaxed his posture and fell past the edge, her instinct to rush forward in an attempt to catch him but she knew she was too late. She inhaled sharply as she watched Alex plummet to the ground and flip into a landing, the impact causing a shockwave to ripple out in waves of fragmented concrete and dust. God, her heart was beating out of her fucking chest but she trusted her brother. Maybe not all of what he did was right, jumping off a goddamn building wasn't okay in the slightest, but it was better than being cooped up in that safehouse praying to God that Alex came back home.</p>
<p>Her heart calmed. She was going to do it. She was going to so it. If Alex can do it, so can Dana. I mean Alex has been doing this longer than she has but she trusted him. It wasn't that far down, right? Maybe a few stories. At this height there's a 50% chance of surviving even if the fall meant being trapped in your own body. But Dana wasn't human anymore. But still; she exhaled and edged forward slowly until her toes were past the edge, her hands trembling in fear. She'd survive, right? Right? "Oh fuck me," she cursed to herself before hopping forward.</p>
<p>It was natural, with the sudden change in gravity she let her fall be a smooth one but the air whooshed up and brought heavy pressure to her stomach. By the time she wanted to think about her nausea the ground caught up to her and she squatted to properly distribute her weight on both feet, her scarf fluttering wildly behind her as pedestrians scattered out of her way. She panted, holy shit, holy shit she actually did it. A wave of triumph washed over her and she jumped in joy, throwing a fist in the air and turning on her toes to let New York Zero know that she jumped off a building and was gonna live to tell about it. "I did it! Alex, I did it! Did you see me? Holy shit that was, that was intense!"</p>
<p>Alex just stared at her with a brow cocked, leaning on the wall with his hands in his pockets and ridiculously unfazed. Yeah, bringing his newly-infected sister was definitely a bad idea. All she did was jump off a building. "You just saved 47 seconds of your life. I mean, you could've ran downstairs but you don't know how to actually manipulate your own mass so...for now we'll just be jumping off buildings. We don't want you to run through walls considering you can't even build a cabinet."</p>
<p>"In my defense smart-ass," Dana frowned at him. "It didn't come with instructions."</p>
<p>"Oh, so it's the cabinet's fault that it didn't have instructions? What's the internet for?"</p>
<p>"To give me the instructions in fucking Sweedish."</p>
<p>"...we have Google Translate."</p>
<p>"Oh shut up." Then she realised why there were outside and turned her attention to the few black-clad figures talking to each other across the road, their goggles firmly affixed on the siblings. "Okay. You said you can find Withers. Despite those pricks having witnessed me jump off a building, you think you can find her faster than us waiting around?"</p>
<p>"I can. But...I'm gonna need you to not look." Alex brushed past her but Dana tilted her head in confusion before grabbing his arm. "Dana―"</p>
<p>"Don't tell me...you're gonna kill them, aren't you?"</p>
<p>"Dana―"</p>
<p>"Tell me Alex. Just like the day you came to save me, punch through their chest and suddenly you are them. Is that...no…"</p>
<p>He looked over his shoulder, "You take their forms, you take their memories."</p>
<p>"No, there has to be another way."</p>
<p>"If there was, you would've found it." Dana tensed. "Being around me right now is dangerous―"</p>
<p>"I'll always trust you, Alex. Even if BLACKWATCH don't know the difference between you and the fake you. You have to trust me too, I'm not a little kid anymore...but the little kid in me will wait here. I don't wanna know how and what you're planning to do to those two." Alex smirked behind his hood as the hold to his arm was released and he focused his sights on the troopers. If they don't know, someone will. He wasted no time; he zipped across the road, sliding on bonnets and casually side-flipping over a van that blocked his path but he had already picked a target. On landing, a back kick sent the closest trooper flying into an alleyway and Alex slowly put his leg down as the other trooper reacted to his colleague knocked off his feet.</p>
<p>Dana was still reeling from her epic moment with a toothy smile when the crunching of bone reached her ears, the sound sending a chill down her spine. But how, how can she still hear that across the road underneath the city ambience of grumbling engines, annoyed horns and the constant stream of footsteps and chatter around her? Her legs buckled underneath her but she attempted a recovery and ended up stumbling back into someone, their angered response barely registering as more crunching channeled through to her. "Alex…" she tried to call out for him. "Alex...stop…"</p>
<p>Alex.</p>
<p>The crunching stopped instantly. Dana hesitated to move but she had to, impatiently waiting for the traffic to slow before running across the street and was greeted by Alex's back and blotchy spatters along the sidewalk. "Alex?"</p>
<p>"How...how did you do that?" Dana blinked. He sounded...he sounded terrified. She slowly moved around him to meet his gaze but his eyes were hiding in the shadow of his hood.</p>
<p>"Do what? I didn't do anything. I only called your name because I wanted you to stop. I could hear their bones breaking all the way from across the street and I wanted you to stop. "</p>
<p>"My name…" He rested a hand on Dana's shoulder, "Whatever you just did, don't do it again."</p>
<p>"You're telling me to not do something I have no control over?"</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>She rolled her eyes with a scowl, swatting Alex's hand away and enclosing her personal space by crossing her arms. "Tell me you have something."</p>
<p>"She's somewhere in Queens. They move her around every 24 hours and we're nearing another transfer. We have 13 minutes at best."</p>
<p>"You're kidding. How the fuck are we gonna make it to Queens in 13 minutes?"</p>
<p>Alex smiled, "Oh, there is one way."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. contact.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Giving credit where it's due, massive thanks to my dear friend and co-writer jemma for this chapter~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We were gonna put a stop to this thing together.</p><p>The walls were the ugliest shade of grey. They were ugly before the dried blood and bodily fluids had stained them, and they were certainly uglier now for it. She dragged a hand across the concrete, learning the texture with a delicate touch. In her wake she left a trail of tiny spores and stringy muscle-like vessels, squirming around and pulsating with a faint bioluminescent red glow. At one point she stops and presses her fingertips into the wall, pushing in deeper and deeper. The concrete around it begins to crack from her touch. She digs further in, feeling the infection from her hand spread out rapidly. This wall was like a festering agar plate someone had forgotten about for too long, and she had no qualms with adding to the toxic threat it posed.</p><p>She hated being in this place. In this… test chamber. The same place Elizabeth Greene had been. She had the one in a million chance of being infected with an unknown strain of the virus commonly known as BLACKLIGHT, and thus the company that owned said virus decided to claim the whole host body for themselves. She had no clue how long she had been in here. Days? Weeks? She had come to learn the entire box they had trapped her in during that time, making up for the lack of sight. Though she imagined even if she did have that gift, the actual visual would be far less than impressive.</p><p>"Hazelle Withers?"</p><p>She turns at the sound of her name, facing in the direction it came from. An unfamiliar voice, though she heard two sets of footsteps entering. How curious.</p><p>"And who might I have the privilege of speaking with?"</p><p>"Someone who plans to bust you out of that cell you're being kept in."</p><p>She immediately screws up her face as if she's just been chewing on something bitter. The owner of the voice clicks in her head, and the thought alone sours whatever crumb of a good mood she might have had prior. She almost wishes it was another entourage of GENTEK scientists.</p><p>"Oh, <em>Mercer.</em> How are you doing these days? Still spreading doom and gloom all over Manhattan?"</p><p>"I think you've got all the doom and gloom concentrated right there," another voice mumbles from next to Alex, quieter, female. The comment almost made her snort with amusement, but she can't imagine what she currently looks like. Long hair greasy and matted together, thinner than a rake, the sweater she was wearing when they scooped her up now moth bitten and caked in dried bodily fluids. She could feel the bandages tied around her eyes soaked in blood, uncomfortably sticking to her skin. They hadn't changed them in weeks, but that did not surprise her. Better to keep the old dressings than temporarily reveal the nature of what lay beneath.</p><p>"So, why have you come to visit me then Mercer? Because if your plan is to consume me, then I would very much like it if you just got on with it." Hazelle turns away, slowly crossing the cell to sit on the metal cot.</p><p>"Files stated that you've been operated on countless times, and you've lost your eyesight because of it."</p><p>"That's correct."</p><p>"And yet you're just… sitting here?" The female voice called out again. God, she was going to start grating on her nerves very quickly. "You're just letting them do that to you?"</p><p>Hazelle gives them a small shrug. "What good would resisting do me? They would simply kill me, and unfortunately that would undermine all the energy they've put into me thus far."</p><p>Alex takes a step closer to the glass that lines one wall of the cell. "Hazelle," his voice dropped to a hush, "listen to me. They took your sight. They are taking your dignity. And they will strip you of your strain. We are offering you a way out of this hellhole that they are keeping you in and trust me, this is not an offer that I will make lightly."</p><p>"There's a catch, isn't there?" She tilts her head to the side, as if she is cautiously sizing up Mercer. "Last time I checked, you're not much of a charity man. You wouldn't be breaking me out of here if you didn't need me for something."</p><p>"Can I not simply be nice? From one infected sibling to another?"</p><p>She scoffs. "Not in this lifetime. What's the catch."</p><p>"Alex's evil twin is trying to turn the entire world into infected, starting here in New York, and we need to stop him."</p><p>Now <em>that, </em>that makes Hazelle double over in laughter. "Okay, the mass infection thing I can work with, but Alex having an evil twin? That was the best you could come up with?"</p><p>"Withers," Mercer barks at her, anger seeping into his voice. "I don't care if you believe it. I just need to know if you are working with us or not."</p><p>"And what if I refuse?" Hazelle dampens her laughter. "I mean, I can. You gave me more than one option: do I work with you or not. I'm leaning towards not." She shifts at the sound of the door to her glass chamber opening with a soft click and her smile grows as Alex steps inside. He keeps to the glass wall Hazelle notices, possibly to keep his eye on the female he left outside.</p><p>"Your choices are very limited, Withers. Either you live or you die. Simple as that."</p><p>"You don't know me," her smile drops.</p><p>"I don't but I know GENTEK. They won't stop until they find a way to undo the damage. All of this, all of us, we're just collateral damage. You think they care about your wellbeing? All they care about is the biological weapon evolving inside of you. To them, you're nothing special."</p><p>"Good."</p><p>"For fuck sake Hazelle, we can get you outta here," the female shouts at her this time and Hazelle cranes her neck as if that was the most stupidest thing she's heard in her life. But then she realises something.</p><p>"I'm sorry, who are you?"</p><p>"Dana. His sister."</p><p>"No way. Alex Mercer infecting his own sister? Are you that fucking crazy?"</p><p>"Call me symptomatic." Alex blurs forward and went to swing for her head but Hazelle counters by turning into him and using his arm as leverage to flip him over her hip. The sudden weight of her drags him onto the floor but he's too slow as she uses his attacking arm to execute a grounded armbar with her leg pressed down on his neck. Alex bares his teeth as he fought, her strength proving her title as a Runner as his biomass quaked with overexertion. Fuck, she is going to break his arm. Of all the times he's broken bones in his body, this has to be the worst pain he's felt in a long time. He's actually struggling and relaxing even for a moment and that meant finding his arm on the other side of the chamber. He smiles. She's going to prove very useful.</p><p>Hazelle gasps as Alex rolls backwards so that he's now on his feet and stands, her grip still tight on his arm until he throws her through the glass wall and Dana stumbles back in shock. "I swear if she counter-infects New York..."</p><p>Dana regains her posture when a heavy hand strikes her across the face, almost flooring her if she didn't quickly recover and roll back onto her feet. When she sees what hit her blood drains from her face as a Hunter that wasn't there before stalks towards her with a low growl in its throat. "Alex…" Dana's voice trembles, her eyes trained on the infected creature in fear of it tearing out her throat, and she cautiously steps away with her hands out in surrender. "Alex…!"</p><p>Alex dodges another swing when he finds his sister being targeted by a Hunter and attempts to run towards her, but Hazelle catches onto his plan and slams her foot down, hard. Spikes of red and black erupt out of the floor in a jagged line and stabs through Alex mid-sprint, his hand coming up to hold onto the spike through his shoulder and the other to clutch his impaled chest. Right through the heart, if he had one to begin with. "Fuck. Dana!"</p><p>"I don't know what to do!"</p><p>"Just hold on!"</p><p>Alex grunts as his body crumples to the floor, the spikes retracting themselves once Hazelle begins to move towards his recovering body. But when she closes the distance Alex twists onto his back and snaps a heel into Hazelle's shin and sees her topple backwards, the broken bone disturbing her balance. Not wasting a second he leaps up and tangles his fingers into her hair, his knee coming up and her head slamming down. The impact is sickening as Alex feels her brain mash against the inside of her skull and he quickly releases his hold as she bounces off and drops awkwardly, aside from the momentary disgust from his hand getting stuck in her hair to which he grimaces. Immobile but not for long.</p><p>Alex turns and bolts straight for his sister with his arm shifting to his Whipfist, cracking his arm back before firing into the air. Dana squeals as the spiked appendage pierces through the Hunter's chest but her body is saying otherwise. It felt weird, it's...reacting. She could feel it, her biomass, it's...it's...immediate. She steps forward and places her hands on its oily chest and cries out in agony when tendrils shoot of her back and into the Hunter, the sensation bringing to her knees as her body reacts to the consumption of matter. Alex is in her vision running towards her but the containment room slips away and she instead finds herself in a blur of jumbled memories.</p><p>Jane Willows. 27. Was a scientist working Operation: Hera until the lack of safety became her fate. And Dana was there to watch every single moment. To feel every moment. How Jane fell in love with Luna, how she got that scar on her back, how the infection ate her alive. Dana was there, and Jane was no more.</p><p>Reality fades back in and Dana grunts, her muscles locked in agony as biomass rippled violently along her arms. At first it loosens beneath her like ropes but once the virus finalised consumption it retracts, red and black shifting into organic metal and hardened skin. It blends seamlessly into her jacket like a wave, razor-sharp claws replacing her hands with spikes sprouting from her elbows and around her shoulders. She exhales loudly, her body relaxing as it quickly adapts to its altered state. Alex lets out a low whistle, "Seems like someone was eager.."</p><p>"What the fuck happened to me?"</p><p>"Don't ask me, I didn't eat it." Alex shrugs nonchalantly, his arms out beside him and his expression mildly concerned.</p><p>Dana panics. "I ate it?!"</p><p>"Technically. I told you: stuck in somebody else's body. But you saw it, didn't you? These Hunters are end products of humans infected with the virus, only for them...death wasn't what awaited them. You've not only taken their form but everything they've learnt too. Human and not."</p><p>"How the fuck do I change back?!"</p><p>"Aww," Alex pouts at her. "You don't like your new look? I think it suits you really well."</p><p>"This is not a jo―Alex!" Dana pushes off and shoves Alex out of the way as she meets Hazelle with a fierce swing, ducking underneath the Runner's twin blades and countering with a swift reverse roundhouse. With another heavy blow to her head Hazelle staggers back and Alex shoves her onto the floor and eases the pressure with a shin against her sternum, his own arms shifting to tendrils to firmly hold her in place and smirks at the image of his own sister backing him up without a second thought. It's definitely with the help of the Hunter she just consumed but damn if he isn't impressed. That kick was well executed. Alex tilts his head at the woman squirming below him and applies more pressure to his shin, making her grit her teeth.</p><p>"Now, you can either stay here and let GENTEK run all these fucked-up tests on you for the rest of your existence. Or, and I would personally agree on, I can show just how fucked we are. Your pick."</p><p>"You don't understand, Mercer. If I wanted to leave, I would. At least here I serve some sort of purpose whether it means assholes in white coats cutting me piece by piece."</p><p>"You don't have to live this life Hazelle," Dana joins in. "We're not here to force you to come with us―"</p><p>"I am." Alex says matter-of-factly and Dana rolls her eyes.</p><p>"But we are not your enemies. There is someone out there wearing my brother's face infecting Manhattan all over again but if you can't believe him, believe me." Even with her face half-covered in bandages Hazelle visibly relaxes, as if Dana's words are a lullaby to her raging heart. Alex notices as well and he morphs his arms back to its original state but keeps his shin on her sternum.</p><p>"At least we gave you a choice. I don't think the other me would've been so patient."</p><p>Hazelle shifts underneath him, her hand up to push against his weight. "The other you wouldn't have wasted his time giving me options."</p><p>Alex paused. "I'll give you that one."</p><p>"If you two have finished flirting," Dana butts in, still struggling to shift her claws back to her leather arms, "Hazelle, we found you in one of the BLACKNET files alongside James Heller. Heard of him?"</p><p>"I heard he's a mighty pain in the ass. He escaped less than 48 hours ago and dear old BLACKWATCH are having real trouble scooping him back up."</p><p>"Can you find him?"</p><p>"Can you? I'm pretty sure Heller doesn't want to be found. Besides, wasn't it Mercer that killed his family?"</p><p>"His family?" Dana's tone falls. "There was nothing in the file that said anything about―"</p><p>"Dana, wait," Alex hushes her as his back straightened, eyes darting from spot to spot. "I hear something..."</p><p>It clicked. "Her transfer's ready. We have to leave. Now."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. limbo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>No...they're all dead. All dead. Except me.</p><p>I'm alive, she questioned.</p><p>Her awakening mind suddenly flooded with instructions, instructions that were not her own, instructions she couldn't ignore. She could feel herself screaming, clawing her way out of a dark hole with hands grabbing for her arms, legs, even hair. Ordering hands, instructing hands. Pulling, pulling, tugging, one hand curled around her leg and she wheezed at the sudden force, another hand tight around her throat. She was cursing now, twisting and yanking off hands that wanted to drag her into the abyss. As she managed to tear the hand on her throat her breath was caught in her lungs, a cold chill from the waters that rose from her feet.</p><p>No. No, no, no, anything but this. Anything! Please! Somebody help me…please...</p><p>Now, now she was screaming, wheezing as she fought against the wave of ridiculously strong limbs, uncaring of the pain that stung her entire body. She just wanted to get out of here, begging the sentient hands, anything to not drown here. But this was not her reality and the water whooshed up almost instantly, through the spaces the limbs provided and completely submerged her person. Panic set in within seconds and her body reacted without thought, a hand rushing up in an attempt to stop the water flooding into her mouth while the other now had to fight against the weight of water that pressed her deeper into the abyss. Her lungs were on fire, her muscles working against the carbon dioxide poisoning her system and her struggles lessened.</p><p>Anything...but this…</p><p>The hands wrapped around her body like a cast, each limb covering sections of her body but she struggled out of the hold, her arm stretching out to the light above her. Please, not this...anything but</p><p>her eyes flickered all on its own and she was suddenly surrounded by an entirely different aura, the scent of fresh ironing overpowering her senses as her hands found purchase on her bedsheet. But then the rush of cold wooden flooring and the shiver down her spine reminded her that another night led to sleep terrors and was awkwardly hanging off her bed, unsure if she wanted to pull herself back up to warm territory or slither onto the floor and embrace her cold punishment. A long groan bellowed from her throat as she let gravity and her weight drag her onto the floor, bedsheet and all.</p><p>She stayed like this for a moment before slowly gathering herself, a hand coming up to wipe the thin sheen of sweat from her forehead and it wasn't until her hand moved that her sights focused. Standing idly in the doorway of her bedroom was an almost confused man gazing down at her with narrowed eyes. It was the hawk tattoo slandered on his bare arm that rung a bell, the distinct markings of a Bermuda agent assigned a particular role. Wraith or, informally so, Reyes.</p><p>"Ah. Morning, Reyes," she casually said, slowly but finally pulling herself and the bedsheet off the floor whilst the curtains automatically slid open to reveal the sunny outside. The Green Zone: where viral activity went unbeknownst to the civilians that lived here, paradise compared to the Red Zone. Dumping the sheet on her lonely mattress, she met eyes with Reyes whose face wavered to amused. God, she just woke up and he's already starting his nonsense. Goddammit. "Not sure why you're here or how you got in but good morning to you."</p><p>"Good afternoon actually, Jess," he replied with a slight head tilt. "It's almost 2pm. And Bermuda gave me the access key to your apartment."</p><p>"Yeah," she mumbled as she slid past him but he followed suit like a puppy; Jess peered behind her and almost scoffed. Ridiculously clingy for a well-trained agent. Ridiculously clingy. "Of course they did."</p><p>"Your heart rate was a little fast. Is it the sleep terrors again?"</p><p>"It's always sleep terrors. Therapy hasn't helped so instead I sleep with my demons."</p><p>"And what about you?"</p><p>Jess halted just as she reached her open bathroom and stared at herself in the distant mirror. She gazed upon the shell of a woman, slowly flicking hair past her ear and inhaled sharply as her fingers brushed the deep scar that slashed through her lip. There was smaller scars patterned all over her face that the BLACKLIGHT Virus couldn't undo; for an engineered weapon capable of many and more, the trauma remained. Especially as she moved her hand from her face to clutch her right shoulder, her arm replaced with cybernetics. Both arms were replaced but the reason behind the replacement she couldn't recall. She sighed, it's been a while since she'd properly looked at herself. To be honest she looked like shit. "Sick of this. Does that answer your question? I am sick and tired of people breaking into my place without my consent. I swear I should've changed the key when they gave me the option."</p><p>"Well, can't call it breaking in if I had a key."</p><p>"You are such an ass."</p><p>"And you love me for it." Her brows furrowed in amused confusion as she walked into the bathroom and peered at the speaker tucked into the corner of the room before meeting Reyes's gaze once again.</p><p>"Anything I need to be briefed on?"</p><p>Reyes leaned on the doorframe with partially crossed arms, "You know I always come bearing gifts. We have―"</p><p>"We?"</p><p>"Yeah, Bermuda assigned me to join you on this mission."</p><p>"Ah. Okay? Go on."</p><p>"The Mercer Virus has raged on in the Red Zone, if it wasn't obvious, but we're on a scouting trip."</p><p>"That's not new," Jess retorted just as she pulled her t-shirt off her head, letting it drop onto the floor before attending to strip off her shorts and underwear. "You forget I'm also infected."</p><p>"You're different."</p><p>"What? That I can't eat you alive?"</p><p>"Jess, c'mon―"</p><p>"We haven't handled a viral outbreak but this ain't nothing new. We've been there, done that. Literally."</p><p>"Our contact also discovered that the origin of the Second Outbreak is none other than Alex Mercer. Despite it starting with him, it hasn't ended either."</p><p>She looked up momentarily, "Alex…? Why would Alex start another war? He saved the city from a nuke, you saw the report right? There's no way. He's not stupid."</p><p>"Like I said, Jess, I always come bearing gifts. Want me to get the workshop ready?"</p><p>"Please."</p><p>"Is there anything else?" She scratched the back of her head, going through the mental list of things she needed to do today, and it clicked.</p><p>"Coffee. Coffee sounds great." With a shuffle of clothing, Reyes's presence left the room and Jess lingered in her spot for a second before moving to the shower, setting the temperature to almost burning and clenched her teeth in the hopes that the water could burn her sins away. Sins that weren't hers to carry but sins she was willing to slander across her entire body. Even if they weren't real, her dreams always pulled her back to the same place: strapped to a table and screaming for her life while whitecoats gathered around her, cutting and pulling and extracting and dissecting. She must've angered someone to have to relive the same dream and for it to feel so real, her hand curling around her nape. Anything but this.</p><p>20 minutes later and Jess was sitting at the workshop, sipping at her tall mug of coffee while small mechanical arms tended to her right arm; two cords were plugged into the base of the wrist and another into the elbow while Reyes ran through the schematics on a screen nearby. "Ah, I see the problem," he sounded to Jess, earning the response of a lazy brow raise. "The mechanism that draws out the blade is damaged. What the hell have you done?"</p><p>"Oh, I don't know, eliminate my targets with such skill and grace…but the mechanism is fine, base diagnostics should prove that. Don't know why BLACKWATCH decided to wire it but we all can't get what we want."</p><p>"That's not the point." Reyes furrowed his brows. "I'll reset the calibrations. When I ask, please respond."</p><p>"Whatever." Jess sat back in her chair as she felt the hand suddenly become numb, the cold sensation sending a light shiver down her spine but she shrugged it off with a longer sip of her hot beverage. Remembering something, she set her cup down and reached for the tablet across the worktop, sliding it towards her and unlocking the device when it was in comfortable reach. "How are your systems running?"</p><p>"At optimal level."</p><p>"You sure?"</p><p>"Wouldn't be here if it wasn't."</p><p>She hummed, "For someone who's like 85% metal, pretty sure Bermuda would take better care of you after last time."</p><p>"Last time was the first time and I'm grateful Bermuda was able to replace the parts of me that were infected. If you're so worried I can send you my diagnostics if you like."</p><p>"Nah, I'm good. I'm just saying: you're just as human as I am Reyes, virus or not. Just because what holds up your body is organic steel rather than flesh and bones doesn't mean you don't have a heart. Especially you. You're the kindest person I know." Reyes's eyes faltered upon the screen he was looking at and Jess picked that up immediately; she huffed. "As much as I hate to admit it."</p><p>"I'm glad you did," Reyes beamed.</p><p>"I'm here for the same reason you are, Reyes, and I rather not be decommissioned. We go, we complete the mission and Bermuda thanks us with a thick cheque. Always look forward to those."</p><p>"Okay, try withdrawing the blade." Her eyes side glanced at her limp hand, the muscles in her arm showing movement but the blade hidden underneath metal and wiring not so much. "I see the problem now. There's a small component that's delayed but functional. Continued usage without maintenance could render the blade useless. You should probably get a―"</p><p>"I'm fine," Jess cut him off, staring at the Bermuda agent with a displeased look on her face. "I can always replace the arm with a disgraceful replica. I'm talking three fingers, three and a half if you include the half thumb, void of nails and actual structure. Just a floppy arm than can kill people. But I'm pretty sure I'll be alright. Pretty sure."</p><p>Reyes stole a peek of Jess as she spoke and noticed her brow twitch, a little telltale that she was suppressing her thoughts, "Did Alex mean that much to you? You rarely speak of him."</p><p>"And it's better if I don't. He wouldn't remember me anyway." Her eyes flitted to the tablet, narrowing at the scene that was playing from a camera Reyes managed to hack a while ago. It was overseeing the lobby doors, a rusting one at that, one she was familiar with. She rigged the apartment building a week ago after an influx of infected were spotted circling the area but Jess knew better. Good thing she remembered this particular camera as a well-dressed man came into view at the corner of the frame with his hands tucked behind him. He was dressed in dark colours from head to toe, his fair skin in stark contrast. But he was out of place with the rest of the scenery, no he was obvious. She marked every person going in and out and he was a new face. But why was he there? Did one of the residents shift to the bad side of society and a gang member came to equalise matters? Couldn't be, any notion of gangs trying to rise forth were repeatedly squashed by the current epidemic happening in New York. "And why are you asking anyway, hm? Jealous?"</p><p>Reyes snorted, "Of a dead guy? Nah, I'm good."</p><p>Jess chuckled at his comment but furrowed her brows as the suited man suddenly vanished from view. She blinked, there's no way. She checked the time of when he was in frame and when he disappeared and the time didn't change. No. There's no way. She hasn't seen anybody exhibit that sort of speed since...since Alex Mercer. Jess sighed and took her last gulp of coffee before setting it down on the worktop, waited patiently for Reyes to finish running diagnostics before ripping the wires out of her arm.</p><p>"The blade should be operating properly now," he spoke as he stood from his place, fiddling with his watch as he moved to sit next to Jess. "Unless you're fighting yourself, it shouldn't pose any problems."</p><p>"At least you did a better job than I normally do. I'll give you credit for that." She glanced beside her, "Did Bermuda give you anything else other than Alex? Because I think we're dealing with more than him." Sliding the tablet towards him Jess stood from her place and tested the blade: touching a small panel on the curve of her palm the blade popped out with a sharp <em>shwing</em> and tapped it again to snap it back into her arm. "You saw it?"</p><p>"A man idly standing in front of the block, yep," he replied nonchalantly as she strolled off into an adjacent hallway, his eyes narrowing at the screen in bemusement. "He's just stand―holy shit! What the...what the fuck just happened? Not even a second and he's gone? Whoa, okay, whoever this is wasn't a part of the gift."</p><p>"Well, whatever gift you had for me," she called out. "Just got fucking stomped on by that guy. First Alex bringing about the second coming and now we have viral suit man? If there's any more of him I swear I'm gonna be pissed." Jess returned fitted in her leather jacket and she brought her arms up to quickly tie her hair into a very short ponytail. With Reyes' attention stuck to the tablet she let her face brighten with a small smile and sauntered towards him, wrapped her arms around his chest when she was close enough and lightly kissed the curve of his jaw. "I'll be right back. I haven't forgotten our movie night."</p><p>"Sometimes I wonder about your priorities Jess," Reyes frowned, although his own smile was lined in his tone. Jess slid away from his and made her way to the window that overlooked a major junction and casually opened it with a flick of her wrist. She was halfway out the window when she heard him clear his throat and she looked back at him with a confused look.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"What are you forgetting?"</p><p>"What am I forgetting?"</p><p>"You tell me."</p><p>"...I don't know, urm, I love you?"</p><p>"I love you too."</p><p>Jess scowled. "Please tell me that wasn't it."</p><p>"Nope but at least you're admitting to your feelings."</p><p>"Aaaaand I'm going," and with a quick two-finger salute Jess moved her weight sidewards and fell out of the window and all Reyes could do was shake his head at what had just happened before returning to the tablet.</p><p>"Viral suit man. Seriously."</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. outcast.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Victims of a common enemy? Subjects of a common experiment? I didn't know.</p>
<p>GENTEK was many things, most of which rendered far from positive. One of their own scientists brought havoc with a single vial apparently meant to cure cancer but even he knew the lies forced down his throat, he knew better than to trust an organisation that played with the remains of Hope, Idaho, the remains of a bioweapon made to target racial groups. Dr. Alexander Jack Mercer was also a man of many talents, most of which rendered him far from alive. His counterpart wouldn't dare treak so far underground because Alex himself knew of the monstrosity that lurked here. Alex knew bringing them into the light would mean the end of humanity. But Mercer was delighted to say the least, a faint smile on his lips as the elevator called out the lowest floor in the building, and he stepped out with a woman and left behind two bodies. Or what could be identified as such.</p>
<p>The air was colder down here, the heating and bright lighting as divine punishment to the man sitting idly in the vast room, seen through the thick glass panels to the steel door. Since his birth he's only killed five people for reasons Mercer could only pin as curious but the room was eerily pristine and he showed no incentive to leave. Leaving the rubble and dirt of GENTEK would be simple for him, tear through the steel door blocking his route to the elevator, kill everyone on sight but no. He was just there, using his fingernail to carve into the polished flooring. From where Mercer was standing, however, he could see the resemblance to Elizabeth Greene. Although his mother was more tardy and cared not of her outwardly appearance, it was as if he did: hair combed back as neat as possible, glassy eyes, even his skin was flawless but...strange.</p>
<p>PARIAH. BLACKLIGHT in its purest form. BLACKLIGHT that could reengineer his body on the molecular level. BLACKLIGHT that could tear the world asunder if he wanted to.</p>
<p>The woman tensed and stepped back once, a sudden fear crawling on her skin, "Are...are you sure? He can kill each and every one of us and you're gonna―"</p>
<p>"Gracie," Mercer cooed, his hand on the biometric scanner. "If he wanted to kill us, we wouldn't have left the elevator."</p>
<p>Gracie glowered. "You're right. I'm sorry sir."</p>
<p>Mercer let out an inaudible huff and returned his focus onto PARIAH and slowly began his advance once the steel door slid away, watching closely for any signs of an ambushed attack, but the closer he got the more dread filled his body. Mercer's seen the reports, meeting this man would bring about the worst possible outcome for all of humanity and every step brought him closer and closer to desolation. It was as if his own biomass wanted to turn against him, his body burning and stinging with a rage that wasn't his that his weight pulled him to the ground. His heart was pounding in his chest and thumping in his ears, his human unconscious bringing a sweat to his shaded forehead and a panic to his lungs. Mercer was trudging forward on all fours by the time he reached PARIAH, eyes blinded by haunted memories and attention on every single one of them.</p>
<p>PARIAH stopped carving and Mercer relaxed. "Mercer," he spoke, his voice so soft, so calming. So persuasive. The pain quaked again and Mercer tensed. "I could crack a single bone in your body and you would beg for death. Pull a single muscle and cripple you for the rest of existence. You have read the reports, wagered on whether coming down here was a smart choice and it wasn't. The man that killed my mother is kneeling before me, wondering how I can bring him on the verge of tears, even though he has no soul. No substance. Nothing."</p>
<p>Mercer held out a shaky hand, "I...I think hearing the reason as to why...I would risk my life to come down here would be better, no?"</p>
<p>"I don't have to know," he quietly stood from his place and frowned when he realised the clothes Mercer had on. A terrible mix of smart-casual, leather jacket layered onto hoodie layered onto dress shirt with the collar awkwardly unfolded. Even the stupid dress shoes were unflattering with his jeans. Then again it was better than the medical suit he had on, dulling and covered in blood that would splatter when he became curious of his own abilities. His biomass reacted to his thoughts and he looked as his arms were shrouded by tailored fabric, feet materialising smart brogues and his hands feeling against the blazer that was snug against his body. It was an outfit that was on his mind for a while, something sleek, something crisp. Something dressy for his one and only contact with the rest of the world. "There's only one reason as to why you're down here but that's not it. I can hear it."</p>
<p>Mercer was still struggling on the floor when ease settled, his mind sharp in an instant. Gracie, who was a witness to the entire spectacle, was still trembling. Mercer was fucking insane to let him out, what was he planning? "Then you must know that there isn't a single me."</p>
<p>"I know the Mercer that stands before me is a man of anger. Why is that so?"</p>
<p>"Because humans tear each other apart," Mercer replied, spite in his tone. "They instill a false sense of hope while plotting an attack all the same. They are the reason for poverty, war, famish. They fight against each other in a bid to call peace―"</p>
<p>PARIAH raised a brow in confusion, "And yet you unleash the virus a second time to prove a point. What is that point, Mercer?"</p>
<p>Mercer stepped forward, "If we can eliminate the cause, don't you think humanity has a chance to live again? So we start here, and once New York has been conquered we move further and choke the mortal lives of humanity until it is no longer human. The New World." PARIAH stayed quiet, looking away from the hooded man as if he was contemplating the words of creating a new world. Mercer's words were corroborative to his anger; he was tricked, he was manipulated, pulled by many strings. Even when he finally managed to find solitude in a town far away, even the people that took him in turned against each other. Turned against him.</p>
<p>PARIAH looked back up at Mercer with a handsome smile, "Then it's time to find the thirteen of Project Nascence. Right now, spreading your strain is making you weak. You need more than yourself to overthrow BLACKWATCH and GENTEK. And your other. He seems to be gathering a little renegade of his own. He already has HERA and is sure to find HADES, although the death of his family might sway his judgement."</p>
<p>"Project Nascence?"</p>
<p>"No!" PARIAH frowned slightly and peered behind Mercer to watch Gracie storm towards him, bloody tears pouring down her cheeks as her mind was fighting away the haze and her muscles began to glow underneath her skin. "You can't! Sir, no! You, you can't find the thirteen! Sir, please, you have to understand―" It wasn't until Gracie was in grabbing distance that PARIAH moved. He was quick. Faster than Mercer ever thought he would be; PARIAH's hand was already tight around Gracie's throat and she held his arm, straining against the crushing force. "You...you can't―"</p>
<p>"From the second I heard you in the elevator I knew you would be a weak one," PARIAH commented dully, glassy eyes examining her in disappointment. "It's a shame Mercer made you one of him. He must've done so for good reason."</p>
<p>"S-ir, please...we can't find the...thirteen...we...can't..." His grip tightened and Gracie fought against his strength but her hands suddenly sunk into his arm like water, PARIAH's body shuddering for a moment. She froze at the realisation of what happened. PARIAH relaxed the density in his arm just to keep her hands in place.</p>
<p>"What she means to say is that we cannot find the thirteen because they are just like us. Leave it to me to find them; if they prove useful I will bring them to you. If not then I will discard them."</p>
<p>"The thirteen of Nascence. Do you think there are others like them, Greene? If that's the case then―"</p>
<p>"No." His answer was short, direct. "You only need the thirteen, Mercer. Their true nature has been suppressed, simply bringing it out into the light makes them easier to command." Taking more interest to the task at hand PARIAH loosened his grip and glanced back at Mercer whilst Gracie let out a blood-curdling scream on the ground, her hands missing and her new stumps spewing out crimson.</p>
<p>The suited man paid no mind to her as he passed, "One thing about ghosts is that you can't kill them twice."</p>
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